


beyond the summer winds (my heart is unchanging)

by diamondskies



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, M/M, actually it turned out MUCH fluffier than expected, mentions of food, post-canon i guess??, so i apologise in advance if i got some details wrong, tho i haven't finished watching vrains properly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26303179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diamondskies/pseuds/diamondskies
Summary: But Yusaku couldn’t find it in himself to watch the illumination dancing above them, even as Ryoken moved his gaze towards it. Not when Ryoken had this faraway look in his eyes, walking towards the line of reminiscing and seeking what was long gone. Not when he looked so pale under the colours spilling on him, as if they would pass through him at any moments. Not when the flowers blooming above him reminded Yusaku of sapphire fields, of disappearing and petals scattering, clad in light.A hand around Ryoken’s wrist and a foot towards the future—that was how Fujiki Yusaku worked, even during something as simple as a date where they watched the fireworks together.
Relationships: Fujiki Yuusaku/Revolver | Kougami Ryouken
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	beyond the summer winds (my heart is unchanging)

**Author's Note:**

> **disclaimer:** yugioh vrains belongs to takahashi kazuki and studio gallop. neither material nor commercial profit is gained from this fanfiction.

Just like everything else, it had begun with Ai and the boredom plaguing him whenever he was buried deep inside Yusaku’s school bag.

“Yusaku- _chan_ , look, look,” Ai said with an excited lilt in his voice the second Yusaku’s put down his duel disk on the desk of Cafe Nagi’s back room. From the orb he was settled in, he projected a holographic flyer—popping it out in true Ai fashion—emblazoned with bold yellow letters on a black background.

Green eyes scanned the words and the splash of colour spread upon the page. “You can always fly over there if you want to watch the fireworks.”

Dark lid covered the upper half of the eye inside the orb, seemingly out of disappointment. “Hey, come on, where’s your sense of romance?”

Yusaku’s brow furrowed slightly, not quite yet annoyed at the jab since he was more in a state of confusion than anything. “What are you getting at?”

“Summer is _the_ time for youth and passion, right? Where _teenagers_ ,” Ai made no secret to whom the emphasised word was directed at, “go out, visit places, have the time of their life? So festivals like this are a must-go!”

It didn’t take long for Yusaku to understand the reason behind Ai’s insistence, for he understood his partner. Although it was better than during his pursuit of Knights of Hanoi that had left him with barely any window to focus on school and none for amusement, restoring Ai had taken over quite a bit of his time. What started off as a tiny drop of guilt must had spread out like ink in water, though over what, only Ai himself had the rights to tell.

So what Yusaku could do was alleviate it with what he believed in. Expression smoothing over, he said, “You’ve watched too much of those slice-of-life series. Festivals are hot and crowded, especially on the day of firework show. The good spots to watch them are mostly packed as well.”

The gleam in Ai’s single golden eye gained something akin to softness—momentary yet unmistakable—before its shape curved into mischievous crescent. “It isn’t like you to give up because of a little heat, Playmaker- _sama_ ,” he goaded. “And here I thought you’ll use this opportunity to take Ryoken out on a romantic date where you can spend the night together watching the fireworks...”

Cheap bait. Yusaku recognised it for what it was. But like how he understood Ai, Ai understood him well enough to pick the best kind of lure to throw.

* * *

With the layout of Den City burned into the back of his mind, choosing a spot with less populace that would give a nice view of the fireworks wasn’t difficult. Yusaku arrived twenty minutes earlier than the promised time, by virtue of excitement and to carry out the task of preparing their seat. He laid out the plastic sheet he had brought in his backpack on the grass before sitting down and settling the meal he had prepared beforehand by his side. The view of festival lights—emanating warmth with their shades of orange—at the bay right across the park he was in, produced relief that his scouting hadn’t been in vain.

As time passed, tiny crowds began to trickle in—most of them couples and groups of three or four. However, the wide area remained relatively desolate, giving each visitor their bubbles of privacy. Yusaku stole a glance towards the boy and girl sitting to his left; both of them donning matching blue yukata and the boy biting into the candy apple in the girl’s grip.

The sight made Yusaku’s thoughts wander, until the sound of light footsteps he’d know everywhere caught his full attention. Quickly turning his head around, he was greeted by Ryoken who had amusement painted on his face, no doubt by the hands of Yusaku’s antic.

“How long have you been waiting?” Ryoken asked in lieu of greeting as he took off his shoes and sat beside him.

“Just a few minutes,” Yusaku answered while tracing Ryoken’s profile with his eyes, fascinated by how his white locks and the blue of his irises seemed to glow even under mere dim lighting. Within the darkness blanketing them, he looked like a star just within Yusaku’s reach.

Ryoken eyed the familiar brown paper bags between them and let out an airy chuckle. “You really brought food, I see.”

“I helped Kusanagi- _san_ make them,” Yusaku said, opening the receptacles and taking out their content. “There are _okonomiyaki_ , yakitori, chicken _karaage_... ah, I bought this too.”

“Hoh,” Ryoken drawled, receiving the green _ramune_ bottle from Yusaku’s hand. The liquid inside swayed as Ryoken held it to his eye level. “It’s been a while since I last saw one of these.” Satisfaction slotted itself snug in Yusaku’s chest upon those words. Ryoken carved a teasing smile. “If I didn’t know any better, with this kind of preparation, I’d say you’re going for a flower-viewing.”

“I’ve never gone on one, though,” Yusaku answered. His stare followed Ryoken’s hand as it put down the _ramune_ and picked up a yakitori.

“I’ll be eating this,” Ryoken said. Yusaku nodded before shifting his focus towards the dentition biting down on the grilled meat.

When Ryoken chewed, there were tiny creases between his eyebrows that Yusaku had come to catalogue as embarrassment. Ryoken finally looked at him from the corner of his eyes, and Yusaku held their interlocked gazes together until Ryoken held the skewer right in front of Yusaku’s mouth.

Yusaku blinked in confusion and perhaps he froze a little too long because Ryoken said, “You wanted a bite, right.”

In truth, it wasn’t Yusaku’s intention, but, well. He ate a piece of the yakitori’s meat, not letting the opportunity go to waste. The childish sense of victory he felt was foreign, yet not unpleasant.

He took a yakitori for himself after Ryoken pulled back his and promptly decided that it tasted better from Ryoken’s hand. “What about festivals?” the other boy asked him, continuing their previous conversation. “Have you gone to one before?”

“Not really,” Yusaku said. The way Ryoken tensed up was nearly unnoticeable, but it was as clear as a day for him. That was why he went on without missing a beat, “Even if I had the time, they were too noisy for my taste.”

Ryoken’s shoulders relaxed. “That is a sentiment we share,” he said with a small smile. Yusaku was glad he could tore off the layer of guilt before it descended upon Ryoken.

They basked in comfortable silence afterwards, sharing the space while filling their stomach. Distantly, Yusaku remembered Kusanagi and Ai pointing out how he had more of an appetite whenever he ate with Ryoken. He hadn’t noticed nor paid much attention to it but that was a good thing, he supposed.

“So have you gone to festivals before?” Yusaku eventually asked.

Ryoken put down the skewer of yakitori he had finished. When he spoke, there was nothing amiss about it, but Yusaku knew from experience and examination that he was being careful. “Back when I was a child. Doctor Taki and Doctor Aso would take me when there was one in the city. I enjoyed the food.” He titled his head up. “The fireworks too. They were beautiful. Although after that I didn’t get to see them much anymore.”

What went unsaid hung heavy in the air. Yusaku’s heart ached in a way he sometimes wished he wasn’t familiar with. Briskly leaning towards Ryoken, he opened his mouth. “Ryoken—”

A piercing whistle cut him off, followed by crackles that echoed throughout the sky. Lights rained down on them and Ryoken stared at him, the smile he sculpted on his countenance almost melancholic. “Look, it has started.”

But Yusaku couldn’t find it in himself to watch the illumination dancing above them, even as Ryoken moved his gaze towards it. Not when Ryoken had this faraway look in his eyes, walking towards the line of reminiscing and seeking what was long gone. Not when he looked so pale under the colours spilling on him, as if they would pass through him at any moments. Not when the flowers blooming above him reminded Yusaku of sapphire fields, of disappearing and petals scattering, clad in light.

Yusaku seized Ryoken’s wrist, the skin beneath his palm cold despite the summer heat. Ryoken threw him a questioning mien. “Yusaku—?”

Ryoken’s lips were cold, too, and when words tumbled out of Yusaku’s mouth, Yusaku was aware of how desperate he sounded. “Don’t go.”

Another firework shot up and shattered into a thousand sparks. Surprise changed into understanding and Ryoken took the fingers coiled around his joint within his, thumb caressing the back of Yusaku’s hand.

“As long as you would have me, I won’t,” Ryoken said. His other first digit found the space between Yusaku’s brows, smoothing over the ridges Yusaku had no idea he had made. Dimly, Yusaku realised that Ryoken felt warmer—always had been and it had been his own body temperature that had risen.

The curve of Ryoken’s lips looked gentler now. Grateful. The expression and his answer eased away the weight bearing down on Yusaku’s chest yet suffocated him with so much he wanted to say.

_You are deserving_ sat heavy on his tongue. _I would have you forever. Even if you go away again, this time I will find you first_.

Instead, Yusaku said, “Then next year, let’s go to the summer festival together.”

“I thought you don’t like how loud they are?” Ryoken teased.

“Yes,” Yusaku admitted. “But if it’s with you, I don’t mind.”

“Fine, then,” Ryoken said, amusement mingling back into his voice.

“I also want to see you wearing a yukata.”

“Only if you wear one as well.”

“ _Hatsumode_ and flower-viewing too. Let’s go do them together.”

“That can be arranged.”

“After that, moon-viewing. And the next _hatsumode_ after that...”

Small laughter escaped Ryoken’s lips, quiet and breathless. “You don’t strike me as the type to enjoy such ceremonial events, Fujiki Yusaku.”

“I don’t think I am,” Yusaku said. He stared into Ryoken’s eyes, straight and unwavering, the way he had done on top of a tower that brought about apocalypse, all those months ago. “I just want to be with you.”

The pale blue in front of him trembled and almost glistened; their quality nearly glass-like, especially with how the rainbow of fireworks reflected upon them like kaleidoscope. “You...”

“Your answer, Ryoken?”

Explosions reverberated across the night sky. Tiny fireflies flew, leaving behind golden trails before fading away. But other ones would follow them again and again, never leaving them lonely.

Ryoken smiled, genuine and happy, and Yusaku knew, right then, that it was the sight that would brought him the most joy this summer. “Okay, we’ll go to all of those, together.”

**Author's Note:**

> the next morning, a conversation like this probably happened through messaging app
> 
> takeru: so how did it go?  
> yusaku: i don't remember the fireworks at all  
> takeru: what  
> yusaku: because ryoken was all that i saw  
> takeru: I See
> 
> title taken from the lyrics of [natsu no kaze no mukou by *luna](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_8oITkN4Do). i intended to not write any fic for vrains before finishing the series, but finally knelt under the cravings for summer-themed yusaryo...
> 
> happy d+1 anniversary of yusaku and ryoken calling each other by their first name! thank you for reading this fic, and i hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
